and residents complained they have been forgotten in the city's recovery. smith showed us the neighborhood. >> he got wiped out. she got wiped out. they got wiped out. >> reporter: his cousin's house is wet and cold. >> bathroom used to be over here. >> reporter: insurance inspectors is have yet to survey the damage caused by seven feet of floodwater in the basement. in this close knit multigenerational community many families lost everything. ruined heirlooms sit before many houses. but smith salvaged something special this veteran's day, letters he wrote to his moth frere vietnam. >> december 24th, 1966. >> yup, how do you put a price tag on that. >> reporter: many houses here look like this inside. dark, dank and depressing. this family has lived here for 42 years. they say they want to rebuild. but they're still waiting for the insurance adjuster and the power to come back on, jeff. >> jeff: mark strassmann, thank you. new jersey was the state hardest hit by sandy. as tony guida shows us tonight people along its famed shore are trying to salvage what re